had over 200 republican votes. so it's not as if he doesn't have an awfully strong hand to play. if it's a deal john boehner can accept, i think it will be passed in a bipartisan manner with a strong majority. if on the other hand he's neutral and not favorable. then his chances are going to be a lot slimmer. >> we will find out in the morning whether any progress came out of the senate leader mitch mcconnell's meeting with vice president joe biden. we've been asking you, our viewers, to send in your thoughts, your messages to elected representatives. let's close tonight with some advice from one of you to washington. >> my message to all of washington for the new year is to set partisanship aside working on behalf of 100% of the voters, fix this mess you've gotten us into, bring a balanced budget to the table to grow this economy for the long term not the short term. >> have a good night.

i'm don lemon, and this is cnn's top ten of 2012. this hour we look at the stories that captured our attention. what we see as the biggest stories of the year, around the world in crime, money, weather and even the biggest scandals. and later this hour, the big reveal of the most intriguing people of the year as chosen by you. we begin with the topic that dominated our coverage for much of the year. here's cnn's political correspondent candy crowley with the top phen political stories of 2012. >> picking the top ten moments of an election year is like finding your favorite grain of sand on the beach. there are an impossible number of impossibilities. there are the moments when catch phrases become boomerangs. >> if you have a business, you didn't build that -- >> i like being able to provide people who provide services to me. >> when cast members stole the spotlight. >> i'm an american woman who uses contraception so let's start there. >> you can almost shake it up

and we start all over again. >> a fair number of moments ranging from ridiculous to inexplicable. >> i'm not going to shut up, it's my term. >> i think it's called romnesia. >> so many moments, so much nonsense there, were game changers too. moments that shook up the race or made history, and made our top ten list. it was seen at the time as a proxy race for november. wisconsin's republican governor scott walker in a showdown with organized labor over budget cuts and collective bargaining power. turns out the end result was no bell weather for the presidential race. walker won, the first governor in u.s. history to survive a recall election. and another nod to a republican governor. >> i cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for the people of our state. >> chris christie's full on

embrace of president obama for helping new jersey came days before the election, and had no noticeable effect on the presidential race. but some republicans think christie didn't have to be that abusive. he'll remember if his name pops up in 2016. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> from the say what category of entries comes a combo team, todd akin and richard murdoch. >> life is a gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, it is something that god intended to happen. >> republican dreams to take control of the senate in 2012 had dwindled throughout the year, but akin and murdoch pretty much shut that door in a couple sentences. two words from mitt romney during the primary reverberated all the way through to november. the issue was his plan to prevent employers from hiring

undocumented workers. >> people who have come here illegal i, won't be able to find work, and over time those people will self-deport. >> the thought of self-deportation was not by itself for romney's dismal showing among hispanics, but it greased the skids. >> reporter: also in the category of moments for which romney would like to have a mull began, there was there. >> 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what, there are 47% who are with him, who believe that they are victims. >> romney called his remarks completely wrong, they also caused the deepest self-inflicted wound of the election. on the flip side -- >> he's going to be the next vice president of the united states, romney's vp day may well have been the best moment of his campaign. the selection of paul ryan excited conservatives in a way romney had not. how many moments are there in an

hour and a half. the president lost all of them in the first debate. the pictures tell the story of a man who phoned it in, panicking his supporters and providing an opening for romney. and finally, the top three moments of the election best described as history making politics. a supreme court decision upholding the constitutionality of obama care and if that doesn't strike you as political, consider what would have happened on the campaign trail if the high court had struck down the president's signature first term achievement. >> at a certain point i've concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same sex couples should be able to get married. >> the first president to endorse same sex marriage was a daily double moment. good politics aimed at an activist wing of his party base and history. and finally, the number one

political moment of the year is easy during elections. >> cnn projects that barack obama will be re-elected president of the united states. >> we are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. we are and forever will be the united states of america. >> for auld lange syne say good-bye to 2012 and all its moments. historical and hysterical. civil unrest, a dictator and a teen who took on the taliban. they're among our top ten international stories of 2012. >> reporter: can you believe it is already the end of the year? actually, the mayan calendar said it would be the end of the world. oh, my goodness look at this, we're still here. we head into 2013. there were so many headlines this year, so many important

stories of 2012 from conflict, hopelessness to inspiration and hope and we also made sure we had a little bit of fun. take a look. number 10. >> welcome to london -- >> the queen of england celebrated her diamond jubilee year. it rained on her flotilla parade, but it didn't take the sparkle out of the magical moments. millions lined the streets, millions more tuned in for this famous waive. number nine, september 11th in benghazi, libya. u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three other americans killed in the terror attack on the u.s. diplomatic mission there. american officials first significanted it was spontaneous spontaneous, sparked by a protest over a controversial anti-muslim film. the white house's handling of the attack became a political hot button. number eight. a political transition in north

korea, but no freedom here. kim jong-un took over from his father. the west hoped there would be change, but there wasn't. at year's end it flexed its military and technological muss muscle with a rocket launch. number seven, brutality by police and private security was out in the open in south africa, where the killing of minors was captured on camera, and broadcast everywhere. minors were protesting, dion madding higher wages, the price they had to pay shocked the world. number six ten more years. the communist party of china, selected new leaders. the secretive process produced a new president. but china's foreign policies are likely to stay the same, though the nude leader's under pressure

to deal with corruption and poverty at home. number five, mohammed morsi, a leader of the muslim brotherhood an islamist group became president of egypt. as his predecessor, a dictator ousted by his people went on trial from his hospital bed. morsi impressed the west by helping to broker the cease-fire that ended an outbreak of warfare between hamas and israel. he disappointed many by awarding himself sweeping new powers at home, triggering renewed outbursts and anger in tahrir square. number four israel and hamas poured fuel on the fiery unrest in the region. one side firing rockets. the other launching missile strikes against targets in gaza. for the first time israel felt vulnerable in jerusalem and tell arrive. the site of this attack in the waning days of contact before

the big guns helped broker a cease-fire. number three in europe, greece was the problem child that spent too much, saved nothing and threatened to take down the euro. new leadership didn't stop constant violent protests, staged by those facing loss of jobs, pay cuts, higher taxes, as their weary government begs for more cash. >> europe's leaders including the new french president committed to save the euro. it lives on. but for how long? number two -- >> the deadliest month to date as the assad regime intensified its use of air power. one of the questions most asked in 2012 was how much longer can this man hold on to power. bashar al assad was under ever more intense pressure to step down. but his regime stepped up the firepower against the opposition.

civilians caught in the crossfire. more than 40,000 people have died so far. >> this is another red line. the opposition fights on, making more dramatic gains than ever. and gaining pledges of additional support from the international community. number one, she fought back from the brink of death after being attacked on a school bus. the taliban shot her in the head because she was an outspoken advocate for the education of girls in pakistan. books won over bullets. the 15-year-old miraculously survived. she woke up in a british hospital and according to her father immediately asked for her school books. the world was gripped, moved and inspired. by the story of one determined young girl facing down an entire network of armed militants and winning. next, the stories that made

news for all the wrong reasons, criminal acts that claimed far too many lives. and later scandal, professional athletes, national leaders, even the royal family, no one was immune from it in 2012. tyeah, its the galaxy note ii.re great. you can do two things at the same time. you can watch videos and text. or you could watch the earnings report and take notes, like we're supposed to. so... can i get it? yeah. okay either of you put together the earnings report yet? yes, me totally. what? why don't you tackle the next quarter. you eat yet? polynesian? pu pu platter? yup! keep up the good work. i will keep up the good work. do more with the new samsung galaxy note ii.

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the year definitely had its share of horrendous crime stories, some capturing international attention and outrage. others filled with disturbing details, almost too hard to believe. here's randi kaye with our top ten crime stories. >> the computer wiz and millionaire is wanted for the murder of an american ex-patriot in belize. >> they want to talk to mcafee as part of their investigation,

nobody seems to know where he is. >> yes, this one was strange and only got stranger after weeks went by and no one could find him. well, not no one. >> breaking news right now, a fugitive software tycoon wanted for questioning in the murder of his neighbor in belize is want ed but no one can find him. number nine, the day darkness fell under a crystal clear sky in wisconsin. >> seven people are dead at this point, three of them we're told outside of that temple. >> the gunman on a rampage at a sikh temple. u.s. army veteran wade michael page. after shooting one police officer multiple times. page was shot and killed by another officer. number eight, the massacre in khandahar province. >> the united states takes this as seriously as if it was our

own citizens. and our own children who were murdered. >> the can caused gunman roberts bailes. bailes left his afghanistan outpost on a night back in march and single handedly attacked two villages. opening fire and killing 16 afghan civilians in their homes and wounding six others. number seven, striking a deal in the shooting that struck a blow to the nation. >> the man who shot congresswoman gabrielle giffords pleaded guilty to 19 charges. >> jared loughner was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms and 140 years. his guilty plea means he will avoid the death penalty. chicago's death rate surged to levels not seen in almost a decade. >> it's just not the gang baggers, right now innocent kids and women are being shot on a daily basis.

>> averaging more than a murder a day, most of the crime happened in a few specific areas. >> the entire city suffers, when violence happens. and this idea of not in my backyard is not okay. >> we start this morning with breaking news from italy. a massive cruise ship the costa concordia turned on its side after running aground in january. 32 passengers and crew were killed. the captain says it was an accident not a crime. he now faces charges. the ship's captain is being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship. he claims he tripped and fell into a life boat. the sentencing of jerry sandusky. >> carol, jerry sandusky will die in jail. >> a judge sentenced the 68-year-old former penn state assistant football coach to at least 30 years in jail. after he was convicted of 45 counts of child sex abuse. despite the mountain of evidence against him, sandusky continues to proclaim his innocence.

he's in the process of appealing his sentence. number three, the shooting of unarmed 17-year-old trayvon martin. >> my son left sanford, florida in a body bag while george zimmerman went home to go to sleep in his own bed. >> accused gunman george zimmerman claims self-defense in a case that sparked international outrage and ignited racial tensions. the trial is set for june. number two -- >> we need rescue inside the auditorium. >> seven down in theater nine. >> july 20th, just past midnight, terror inside theater nine. >> aurora colorado, nine miles east of denver, where there has been a masked shooting at a movie theater. >> james holmes donned protective gear, threw tear gas and began firing. in the end 12 people killed. 58 others wounded. holmes faces 152 charges.

many victims continue to recover while others will never recover the loss they suffered that night. and number one. >> unimaginable horror grips the nation in one of the deadliest school shootings in u.s. history. >> tragedy at sandy hook elementary. >> this is unspeakable what happened in this town. >> innocent children shot dead in their classrooms. the victims 16 six-year-olds four seven-year-olds along with adults. >> emilie's laughter was infectious. all those who met her would agree the world was a better place because she was in it. >> a nation faced hard questions about mental health and guns. as the president issued an emotional call for action. >> for those of us who remain let us find the strength to

carry on and make our country worth think of their memory. >> randi kaye cnn atlanta. next, the stories that affect your bottom line, from facebook's ipo to the new apple boss, to the fiscal cliff. the biggest money stories of the year. and later this hour, the ten most intriguing people of 2012 as chosen by you. so, i'm happy. sales go up... i'm happy. it went out today... i'm happy. what if she's not home? (together) she won't be happy. use ups! she can get a text alert, reroute... even reschedule her package. it's ups my choice. are you happy? i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. happy. happy. happy. happy. (together) happy. i love logistics.

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breaking news tonight, one of the greatest voices of her generation, whitney houston has died. a tragic end for an iconic singer. whitney houston who battled with drugs and alcohol for decades was found dead in a los angeles hotel bathroom. her death was ruled an accidental drowning with the effects of heart disease and cocaine use listed as contributing factors. she was just 48. that was one of the biggest entertainment moments of 2012. some might say 2012 was the year versus the rest of us. employment, home bryces and the stock market all up. even as our nation's leaders failed to get their act together. here are the top ten stories that caught the attention of cnn business correspondent christine romans and ali velshi. >> number ten, apple, the first

year without steve jobs and the company is trying to prove under a new ceo that it can still invent things we didn't know we needed that we would buy faster than anything's been sold in personal technology before. number nine, the u.s. stock market, despite all those worries about the fiscal cliff and slower growth in the u.s. economy, the stock market has had a great year. too bad you missed out. smart money's been on the market, the rest of us are worried about the fiscal cliff. >> number eight, facebook's ipo. hundreds of millions of people like facebook, but investors did not on its first day as a public company. the stock has yet to climb its way back to the ipo price. >> number seven, mother meyer. the new ceo of yahoo! who announced she was just going to take a two week maternity

leave as she tried to turn this company around. 37 years old, it looks like a mother's touch is what yahoo needed. >> mother nature. an intense drought in the midwest that scorched the corn and sky crop sending prices sky high. who can forget super storm sandy? neighborhoods along the northeast swept away, millions without power and damages as high as 50 billion dollars raising lots of questions about u.s. infrastructure and whether we should be spending money to fix it. >> china. is china slowing or leading the world. we know china will be the biggest economy in the world by 2020. for sure by 2030. >> china, china, china. >> china also getting more than a few mentions during the presidential campaign. it's pretty clear china is a competitor and a partner. >> number four, europe, the european union was fractured by too much debt and the austerity plans to fix it.

that saga is far from over. number three, the housing market. finally finally bottomed out, the combination of low home prices and continued record low mortgage rates set off a building and buying spree. well healed investors began buying entire neighborhoods, but first time buyers were also able to get a home of their own for the first time in years. as long as they had a hefty downpayment. >> number two. >> cnn projects that barack obama will be re-elected president of the united states. >> the election. more than just about obama and romney. it was about socialism and capitalism. about spending and cutting. about what kind of role government should have in your life. >> number one is the fiscal cliff. lawmakers saw it coming, but didn't bother to pay any attention to it, until after the election. had they put politics aside and dealt with it earlier, who knows how strong the u.s. economy would be right now?

next, scandal. can you guess who made our list because of bad behavior? well, if it isn't mr. margin. mr. margin? don't be modest, bob. you found a better way to pack a bowling ball. that was ups. and who called ups? you did, bob. i just asked a question. it takes a long time to pack a bowling ball. the last guy pitched more ball packers. but you... you consulted ups. you found a better way. that's logistics. that's margin. find out what else ups knows.

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i'm don lemon with a look at your headlines. hillary clinton will spend new year's eve in a new york city hospital with a blood clot. she was admitted sunday after a medical exam. the clot is believed to be related to the concussion she suffered earlier this month. when she fainted from the

effects of a stomach virus. doctors want to keep her and a close eye on her for 48 hours. the other big story tonight is the action or inaction on capitol hill. if lawmakers do not reach a fiscal cliff agreement, you could see your taxes skyrocket. the major sticking points or entitlements and tax increases. house republicans met into the evening and we'll find out in the morning whether joe biden and mitch mcconnell made any progress in their talks. both houses will be back in session tomorrow. those are your headlines this hour, i'm don lemon, keeping you informed. cnn, the most trusted name in news. three, two, one. and liftoff -- >> may 2012, space x launched a rocket into space, becoming the first commercial company to dock

a space krach at the international space station. private companies instep stead of nasa sending cargo to the station. it was one of the space industry's top accomplishments. one of our top scientific breakthroughs of 2012. it was a banner year for bad behavior and not all of it easy to stomach. from sports to politics and beyond. here's joe johns with the ten most scandalous stories of 2012. >> number 10, royalty gone wild. this year the british royal jewels got a public viewing, in las vegas, prince harry got caught in his birthday suit playing strip billiards, which didn't go over well back home. number nine, going out of bounds, the nfl has made it a major mission to crackdown on concussions, so it was unpleasant for the league to learn in martha the new orleans

saints had a bounty system from 2009 to 2011 paying team members for big hits that knocked opposing players out of the game. commissioner roger goodell responded with harsh suspensions for the general manager and coaches. initially the league also suspended a handful of players, but later overturned that decision. number eight, the wheels fly off the bike. cycling superstar lance armstrong had endured the swirl of steroid rumors for years, that all changed in august. the seven-time tour de france winner was stripped of his titles, lost his sponsorships and left the board of his famous cancer charity live strong, after the u.s. anti-doping agency found he engaged in a long term pattern of blood doping during his career. he denies using performance enhancing drugs. wrong side of the street, few things are more universal for american children than sesame street and elmo. which makes the elmo sex scandal all the more shocking.

kevin clash resigned as the voice of elmo after allegations he had sexual contact with underaged males. congress behaving badly. the whiff of scandal doesn't mean you can't win a race for congress. jesse jackson, jr. of illinois was re-elected even though he was absent for months due to mental health issues. under federal investigation for misusing congressional resources. weeks after the election he resigned. prolife republican congressman of tennessee had urged his pregnant mistress to get an abortion a decade ago. he denied the woman was pregnant or had an abortion and he was re-elected by 12 points. number five, lybor pafrnts on fire. even if you've never heard of lybor, it probably has a big impact on your finances. the interest rates are determined in part by the rate

at which banks borrow from each other. barclays paid nearly half a million dollars for manipulating these important interest rates. and the investigations at other banks are still ongoing. the sheer scale of it is huge. it makes bernie madoff who made off with billions look like a skid row pickpocket. number four, big trouble in communist china, everybody thought one of the most powerful politicians in china was getting rid of crime and corruption until this summer when a court convicted his wife of murdering a british businessman and the government accused him of trying to hinder the investigation as well as taking bribes and abusing his power. now he's been kicked out of the communist party. leaders voted to expel him in november. number three, a service becomes not so secret. the role of protecting the president when he travels abroad has its moments of glamour and excitement. that atmosphere included hookers

for some secret service agents and military personnel visiting cartahena in advance of the president's arrival last april. it was an embarrassing incident for the white house, but it wouldn't have bothered columbian authorities. local police only got involved because of a hotel altercation between a woman and a secret service agent over the payment. number two, burying the lead. it's been called the building that never sleeps, but the bbc's london headquarters said it was completely unaware of the serious allegations involving long-time presenter, the late jimmy sabol, their show news night investigated allegations of child sexual abuse, but failed to air a report on an alleged abuser within their midst. the bbc's director general has resigned. number one david petraeus' blown cover. the illustrious career of david petraeus was brought to an abrupt end by e-mails.

here's what happened. last spring petraeus' biographer wrote anonymous e-mails to tampa socialite jill kelly, warning her to stay away from high ranging military officers. kelly complained to a friend in the fbi, which led to an investigation with unexpected consequences. the fbi also discovered e-mail exchanges between broadwell and petraeus, showing that in addition to being the general's biographer, she was also his mistress. the general resigned from the cia just days after the election. who knows what's in store for 2013. joe johns, cnn washington. >> top of the list this year, scandal in washington, are you surprised petraeus topped the list in. >> no, i'm not. the guy is the head of the cia, the top spy in america, and he can't keep an affair secret. i think there's some human quality in there, and some humor at the same time. it's remarkable to me.

it's men in power, thinking they can get away with it, bill clinton, john edwards, newt gingrich. one after the other. men in power think they live by different rules, that's why he deserves to be top of the chart. >> let's turn to the royal family. even the royal family couldn't escape the list. >> well, absolutely not. and in this case, though, prince harry, the kid's had trouble after trouble. if you invite a bunch of people to your room, get drunk and play strip poker, allow them to take pictures you're going to be in the press. he's a horrible prince harry in that regard. the duchess unfortunately for her, had some expectations of privacy, she was alone on a french villa. they used long lenses to take pictures of her. that's why he deserves to be in the media, she doesn't. >> is it a double standard, because he's a guy. everyone said, you know what, they kind of brushed it off a little bit. if a woman, a female member of the royal family had taken pictures like prince harry, it would be quite a different story.

>> i think it would be, the scenarios are different, if she had invited a bunch of people she just met in the ka siena to get drunk and take pictures, you're opening yourself up. in this world, and the paparazzi internationally and domestically, we have to limit them by profiting off pictures of celebrities by invade ing their privacy. that's what it's about. it's a different scenario, we have to have some standards, i agree with this one. though. >> thank you. in 2011, the united states experienced 14 weather disasters, costing $1 billion or more. in 2012, the hits kept on coming. >> number 10, april 15th. >> millions of people throughout the midwest are battened down. >> we were looking up at blue sky in a second. >> 75 tornados ripped through the midwest, causing nearly $300 million in damage. number 9, tropical storm debbie.

this is what happens when you get hammered by two feet of rain. >> this storm never developed into a hurricane. but it did leave up to 28 inches of rain in northern florida. number eight, summer heat wave. sweltering heat baked the nation this summer, march and july set u.s. records as the hottest of all time. number seven, western wildfire. >> oh, my god. there's smoke in the air. >> the heat wave helped fuel a string of wildfires that charred the rest. colorado experienced two of the state's largest and most destructive wildfires ever. number six -- >> it began in iowa, moved through illinois, indiana, ohio and into washington, d.c.. it's just a fast moving long lasting violent thunderstorm complex. >> after charging 800 miles, 22 were dead and five million were without power. number five, the dallas 22.

there's an old myth that tornados don't hit big cities. april 3rd proved otherwise when twisters hit dallas. >> it was scary. it was so scary. it reminded me of the wizard of oz. when the tornado hit and everything kept going around and around. >> in all, 22 tornados caused a billion dollars worth of damage within 24 hours. >> number four, deadliest tornados. >> tornados took up three slots in our top ten countdown this event was the deadliest. march 2nd and 3rd, 70 confirmed tornados killed 40 people in the midwest. number three, hurricane isaac. hurricane isaac descended on louisiana tuesday night nearly seven years to the day that hurricane katrina struck. isaac wasn't such a monster, but it was still a killer. the country held its collective breath as the levees were tested yet again. in the end, the new levees saved new orleans, but plaquemines parish was flooded again.

>> all the big rivers dry this year. >> by september, 66% of the u.s. was in some degree of drought. the dry weather is expected to continue into 2013 and this could become the costliest natural disaster in u.s. history. and number one. super storm sandy. >> this historic super storm made landfall over the most populated areas of the united states. wind damage, power outages, storm surges, inland flooding, even snowstorms are threat thing the lives and homes of people from virginia to massachusetts. >> i've never seen devastation like this in my life. >> the surf here getting much more violent. >> curfew is underway right now. you are not to be on the streets. >> they're keeping an eye on the possibility of flooding. >> super storm sandy has crippled the nation's biggest transit system. >> talking about flooding, possible power outages that could last for days. >> people just need to be self-aware. >> the storm killed at least 113

people in the u.s. and caused tens of billions of dollars in damage. total repairs will take decades. chad myers, cnn. next, the most intriguing people of 2012 as voted on by you. but first, remembering some of those we lost this past year. since i've lost weight i have so much more energy than i used to, when i'm out with my kids, my daughter's like, "mom, wait up!" and i'm thinking, "shouldn't you have more energy than me? you're, like, eight!" [ male announcer ] for every 2 pounds you lose through diet and exercise alli can help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective.

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this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills. you know you know it, that south korean rapper and his viral hit gangnam style. it's become the most watched youtube video of all time. he may have danced his way into the record books, did he make the list of most intriguing people of 2012 as chosen by you? >> number ten, supreme court chief justice john roberts. >> the united states supreme court in a major decision a 5-4

decision up holds the president's health care reform law. >> you could have imagined the deciding vote was cast by the chief justice himself. conservatives stunned. liberals perplexed, but thrilled. forging ahead, the roberts court takes on same sex marriage. number nine, yahoo! ceo marissa meyer, at 37, head of a major tech company, a ceo in a male dominated field, pregnant. it's the baby part that became problematic when meyer decides to take just a couple weeks for maternity leave. the mommy blogosphere went nuts. what message was she sending by not staying home with her baby. >> number eight, south korean rapper, cy.

>> say what you want, his lasso inspired dance style first discovered on youtube, had everyone going gangnam. >> the last one and then the -- >> he was riding high in 2012, star performer in the most watched youtube video of all time. >> number seven, republican presidential candidate mitt romney. >> this election is over, but our principles endure. >> romney ran on his impressive business credentials it was his multiple gaffes during the campaign that helped seal the fate. remember the 47% comments? >> 47% are with him who are -- >> and this one. >> whole binders full of women. >> number six, ex-cia director general david petraeus.

we have some breaking news now, coming in regarding the chief of the cia. general david petraeus -- >> general petraeus, can you talk about this, please? >> the news was unexpected. the reason shocking. petraeus, a retired four-star general had quit his cia post and admitted he cheated on his wife. petraeus' mistress was also his biographer, paula broad well, an embarrassing exit from the public stage by one of the most respected public servants of his time. >> an impressive list? that's only half of them. the most intriguing people of 2012 revealed after a quick break. (all) the gulf! it doesn't matter which of our great states folks visit. mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. thanks, karen.

love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn. bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. we're having such a great year on the gulf, we've decided to put aside our rivalry. now is the perfect time to visit anyone of our states. the beaches and waters couldn't be more beauful. take a boat ride, go fishing or just lay in the sun. we've got coastline to explore and wildlife to photograph. and there's world class dining with our world famous seafood. so for a great vacation this year, come to the gulf. its all fabulous but i give florida the edge. right after mississippi. you mean alabama. say louisiana or there's no dessert. this invitation is brought to you by bp and all of us who call the gulf home.

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it was a move that outraged nfl fans in 2012, the league battling with referees over money, tried to use replacements from college and high school. after a blown call, the two sides decided it was best to settle, agreed on a contract within days. making the replacement refs one of our top sports moments of the year.

they did not make our most intriguing list, who did? brooke baldwin continues the count countdown of those you voted as the most intriguing people of 2012. >> number 5, super jumper, felix baumgartner. let's face it, did he what no human has ever done, diving 24 miles from the edge of space making the sound barrier along the way. >> i'm still the same guy, but as soon as you start traveling, people recognize my face. >> i was scared. >> you were scared? >> i was a little bit scared. >> number four, new jersey governor chris christie. >> the shore and the board walk at seaside heights of my childhood no longer exists. >> the rough and tumble governor took charge when a super storm named sandy ravaged his state

days before the presidential election. a romney backer suddenly christie was standing arm in arm with the president praising mr. obama's leadership as they toured sandy's wrath. >> when you know you have responsibility for those folks. you don't care about the politics of things. i could careless today. >> number three olympian gabby douglas douglas. >> gabby douglas. one of the fab five in the london games, she captured our hearts, becoming the first african-american gymnast to win gold in both the individual all around and team competitions at the same olympics. >> i wanted to inspire a nation. and inspire a generation, i love that. >> she did just that. >> number two, school aged activist malala yousef.

she rose to fame blogging about the brutality of her life in pakistan under taliban rule. not yet a teenager, she dared to suggest girls not even deserve but have a right to an education. >> i will get my education if it is in home, school or any place. >> the taliban retaliated, hunting her down, shooting her in the neck and back. the attack outraged even hardened pakistanis and all around the world, malala quickly became an international symbol of good against evil. today she is recovering in england. number one, president barack obama obama. >> tonight you voted for action, not politics as usual. >> after a long and we mean long bitter campaign president obama won re-election in 2012.